Body of Lies is the fourth Gemma Woodstock novel which can be read as a standalone but reading the series would provide for better background understandings. Sarah’s books are crime/police procedural fiction at its finest. A car crash victim clings to life and is rushed to hospital yet can't be saved. Hours later, her corpse is stolen from the morgue with no one knowing who the dead woman was or why her body was taken.

Body of Lies is for readers who enjoys a good crime thriller with compelling twists and turns that will have you guessing to the very end.


‘What now?’ … the pair come to a halt, and the woman brings a hand to her chest. She stammers, ‘Someone’s stolen a body from the morgue.’

I've done it again. This is the 4th book in the Gemma Woodstock series and I've jumped in without reading the other 3. I easily read it as a standalone. I was attracted to the brilliant blurb and cover. I will also have no hesitation about reading her other books now. I have read the Housemate by this author, so I knew I wasn't going to be disappointed. What I loved the most about this book was the DNA aspect. One of my favorite topics to read about as well as missing people. I loved Gemma's character and found her to be relatable as she juggled motherhood and work. I found her to be down to earth. There were so many subplots that kept me interested and turning those pages.

Thanks to NetGalley and Allen and Unwin for the opportunity to read this book.

There is so much going on in this story, and not all is as it seems. It is an investigative drama featuring bodies stolen from morgues, decades old secrets, lies, and corruption. It's gripping and not easy to put down.
Another fantastic book by Sarah Bailey and the final Detective Gemma Woodstock instalment.

Packed with red herrings and edge-of-your-seat reading, Body of Lies kept me guessing to the very end. I loved the way autor Sarah Bailey tied together a series of apparently unconnected events in a story that I found chilling yet enthralling throughout. I loved the characters, particularly Gemma, who is officially on maternity leave with a nine month-old baby as the story begins, but who nonetheless joins the police investigation, driven by a compulsion to unravel the case. This has been a thoroughly gripping and beautifully written story that I couldn’t put down.

Gemma is a heroic protagonist! I found this book to be so entertaining! The most compelling book of the series. I loved every second in the well written pages.

I got 15% through this before I realized it was number 4 in a series 🫣
I am stopping here and going back to number 1 but I didn’t want to wait until I’d read the whole series (because who knows how long that will take) before I left feedback.
I love the simple prose and the plotting was perfect! Not to fast, not to slow: just right. I definitely set up to be an enjoyable read

When a corpse is stolen from the morgue, Gemma finds herself assisting with the case despite being on maternity leave. What Gemma doesn't know is that the missing woman is someone she knows and someone is out to get her too.

Holy dooly, this was a smashing read! I was invested in the mystery from page one and zoomed through the book, aching to know how it ended. The author really does have a remarkable style of writing as this was such an easy to read book. I can't wait to see what she writes next.

Body of Lies by Sarah Bailey.
480 Pages | Crime Fiction

DS Gemma Woodstock is back and returns to her hometown of Smithson. While at the hospital visiting her father with baby Scarlett in tow something strange and remarkable happens. A corpse has been stolen. No-one can work out how this happened and why. The dead woman had been involved in a suspicious car accident earlier that evening. A few hours later a newborn baby is found at the lake abandoned. DS Woodstock decides it is time to cut her maternity leave short and assist the police investigation while they are short staffed. Many things are not adding up, especially with a pub brawl and a murder of a hospital CEO on the cards as well.

This is book four in the DS Gemma Woodstock series. I must admit this is the first book in the series I have read. I didn’t find it hard to read along with zero background on the characters. I was invested in the story and wanted to know all the answers – Who did it and what is going on?. Another great Australian crime series.

Thank you Netgalley and Allen and Unwin for my gifted copy of this e-book for my honest book review.

Thanks NetGalley!
Gemma is back for her fourth adventure, somehow managing to investigate a murder whilst still on maternity leave. She is literally holding the baby and taking numbers!! Is there anything this woman can’t do?
Mysteries, death and a baby left by the lake - are they all intertwined or is this the unluckiest small town in Australia? Gemma is left fighting for her place in her family, in her workplace and for her very life!
Sarah Bailey knows how to suck the reader in, draw out the adventure and take care of us on the other side. She is a wonderful addition to the growing stable of Australian crime writers.

This is the first book I have read in this series and I did enjoy it very much, I am not sure whether I really like Gemma that much, she tended to rub me the wrong way at times but she does her job and well, Gemma is on maternity leave visiting her father in hospital, when the lights go out and the fire alarm sounds, Gemma jumps in, baby in tow and starts asking questions and DS Everett sent to investigate is not happy with her jumping in, when they discover that the body of a woman killed in a suspicious car accident is missing and Gemma is determined to find answers, little does she know how things are going to turn out.

Gemma’s partner Mac, is working on a cold case at the moment and Gemma is eager to get back to work and this case seems the right time especially when a new born baby is found by the lake, are they linked? Then the hospital CEO is found murdered the pressure is on the police to find answers and Gemma is in boots and all, even though she and DS Everett are not getting on at all, the tension grows as they all do their best to find answers.

With Gemma’s journalist friend Candy pushing for something she can write about, Gemma soon finds herself in danger, when she is attacked, Mac seems to be keeping secrets from her as is her boss DI Jones, who can she trust and what’s more are all of these cases linked and who is behind it all, will she and the police find the answers before there are more bodies turning up.

This is a twisty story with shocking revelations for Gemma and a very busy story with lots happening all at once, there are fabulous characters who have personal issues at the same time they are working and getting to know them added to the story. This is one that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good crime thriller, it did have me turning the pages to find out what happened. Well worth the read.

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

Throughly enjoyed this instalment, I have followed Gemma’s journey throughout but since it’s been quite a while since book 3, I think this could easily be read as a standalone.
Gemma is currently on Maternity leave, now residing back in Smithton with her partner Mac and family. As fate would have it, she is in hospital visiting her father when it’s discovered a body from a road accident has been stolen from the morgue.
Somehow she becomes involved in the investigation, not so much as working on the case, as working along side it. With station politics and a number of incidents that may be linked, Gemma finds herself in danger more than once.
Gemma has certainly grown as a person becoming more likeable with each book. And in this book there is a lot more for her to come to terms with. Kept me enthralled and entertained.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read

I was so excited when Sarah Bailey announced that DS Gemma Woodstock was coming back for 1 more book!

Gemma is back in her hometown of Smithson on maternity leave after having her daughter. A car accident and a body stolen from the morgue at the hospital where Gemma’s father is recovering from a heart attack brings her into the investigation.

Internal issues with another detective make Gemma’s return to work difficult and leaves her on the outside of the investigation and secrets are being kept from her that may lead her into danger.

You either love or hate Gemma. She’s not a team player, she likes to be in charge and she’s rash but she never gives up on an investigation!!

Thank you to @allenandunwin and @netgalley for the #gifted eARC. Body of Lies is available to purchase now.

I have only read book one in this series and I remember not liking DS Gemma Woodstock at all in that one. Somehow I have managed to pick up book four on Netgalley, and luckily I find that Gemma has improved greatly since that first book.

In Body of Lies she is on maternity leave with nine months old Scarlett, and living with Max, Scarlett's father, and Ben, her older son. Gemma's return to work is approaching and when a really strange case involving a missing corpse turns up she is keen to help out in a casual way. This becomes awkward because she cannot of course run the case and she does not cope well with not being in charge.

It is an intriguing case involving several murders, a stolen corpse, an abandoned baby and much, much more especially in the last third of the book. This is when the author decides to throw everything possible into the mix. As long as you do not want your fiction to be realistic this is actually okay and perfectly readable if a little crazy.

I thought this book started off extremely well and I enjoyed the police work and the characters. As the story progressed it seemed to lose direction and rambled into some very unlikely scenarios. Still quite readable but not the best. Three stars.

Just when we thought Gemma Woodstock's story was over, she's back. Well that's to say Sarah Bailey gave Gemma a well-earned rest while she wrote <i>The Housemate</i>, which was published in 2021. But she's back. In Smithson with Mac her babydaddy, her new baby Scarlett and son Ben. She's on maternity leave though and grappling with a decision about when and whether to return to her job - in Smithson or elsewhere. She knows she's uprooted Mac and feels guilty about that. And now he's distracted and Gemma fears the worst.

She gets drawn into a case here though as she happens to be at a hospital when a corpse is taken from its morgue. The book opened with the car crash that resulted in the corpse so we already know it wasn't an accident. Then a newborn is discovered near a local lake. Links between the two cases seems unlikely but the murder of the hospital CEO adds yet another layer.

In the background there's a state-of-the-art new medical research facility being built (with Smithson seeming an unlikely location to play host) and suspicion about a 'retreat', where residents keep to themselves.

We dip into small town politics and Gemma finds herself at odds with another detective, who'll soon be her competition for their boss Jonesy's job. If she stays, that is.

I really enjoyed this and Bailey does a great job at timing reveals. Secrets are being kept from Gemma here and so we readers are as surprised as she is at some twists offering links back to her.  

I note in her acknowledgements that Bailey says this is Gemma's final story... though I wouldn't mind seeing more. Perhaps a 'reboot' in a few years time?

Body of Lies by Sarah Bailey is the fourth book in the Gemma Woodstock series, a crime-thriller series following an Australian police detective. Gemma’s family leave ends abruptly as she finds herself drawn into the investigation of the missing body of a woman killed in a high-speed car chase, a baby that turns up abandoned by the lake and the head of the hospital turns up murdered. She’s not sure how these crimes are connected, if at all, or how they are personally linked to her, but she’s determined to find out.

I remember reading The Dark Lake when it was first released and being very intrigued by the character of Gemma, a regular woman who’s made mistakes in her life and had to deal with the consequences. Now, four books in, the progression of her character has been fantastic, and seeing her juggle her relationship with her partner, Mac, her pre-teen son, her 9 month old daughter and her unexpected early return to work was really interesting to read about. She’s a bit off-kilter, working with new people who she doesn’t know well and whose methodologies are different to her own, while also navigating the unsettling feeling that Mac is hiding something from her.

I was deeply invested in the book and the crimes being investigated, as well as all the little side-plots, many of which eventually intertwined with the main plot line. It was atmospheric and fun and I’m so glad I’ve come back to Bailey’s writing.

Body of Lies is the fourth and final book by Sarah Bailey to feature Detective Gemma Woodstock, and though I’ve (strangely) not read any of the earlier series instalments this worked perfectly well as a stand alone.

Set about a year after the events of Where the Dead Go Gemma has returned to live in her home town with her partner, their new baby daughter, and her young son from her previous marriage. She’s visiting her father, hospitalised after a heart attack, when the body of an unidentified woman killed in a car accident is stolen from the morgue. Though still on maternity leave when Body of Lies opens, Gemma can’t help but involve herself in the mystery and when an infant is later found abandoned, which she suspects is related, she decides to return to work early.

There is a lot happening in Body of Lies, and Gemma quickly finds herself with more questions than answers. Several well crafted red herrings complicate the investigation that grows to include a pub brawl, a brutal murder, and a local cult. With the main action taking place over a few weeks, Gemma slowly makes the connections necessary to piece the complex case together, unwittingly putting herself in mortal danger as she does so. The root of the crime is unexpected, and perhaps a touch fantastical, but certainly adds shock value to the plot.

Gemma’s personal life is similarly complicated in this novel. Already struggling with the dilemma of balancing motherhood with her career, the sensitivity of her son to his father’s recent death, and her insecurities regarding her current relationship with Mac, Gemma is devastated when she learns the identity of the stolen body and the secrets it reveals about her past, putting her at odds with almost everyone she is close to. Gemma is a complex character, well portrayed with realism and nuance.

A gripping police procedural with a compelling lead, Body of Lies is a great read. As this is the last book which will feature Gemma, an epilogue set around three months after the dramatic end of the investigation proves to be satisfying

3.5★s
Body Of Lies is the fourth and final book in the Gemma Woodstock series by award-winning Australian author, Sarah Bailey. A pub brawl, a fatal road accident with an unidentified victim, the corpse of that victim stolen from a hospital morgue, an abandoned newborn baby, and the stabbing murder of a hospital executive, all within twenty-four hours: some of these incidents are definitely related, but DS Gemma Woodstock, still on maternity leave, is on the scene of one, and knows they should be thoroughly but separately investigated.

With a severe staff shortage, her former boss in Smithson, DI Ken Jones seems eager for her input; Smithson DS Julian Everett is chagrined by her participation; her close friend, independent journalist, Candy Fyfe, wants information to guarantee her a scoop; and her partner Mac is sympathetic to her irresistible urge to get involved.

Of course there are things to consider: ten-year-old Ben is anxious for her safety at work; nine-month-old Scarlett needs care; and Mac has his own work keeping him busy, some of it requiring travel. But starting back in Smithson would stand her in good stead for a potential senior position coming up, Ben could stay in the same school, and she could be close to her father and his health issues. Do she and Mac want to settle in Smithson?

Jonesy agrees that Gemma can run a parallel investigation and share information with Everett, who will lead the case, which sort of works except that she is less than impressed by Everett’s methods and attention to detail. Then things get dangerous for Gemma and she is ordered to step back by Jonesy, and begged to do so by her dad and Mac. But Gemma is hooked by the stimulation the cases offer, and retreat isn’t in her nature: teaming up with Candy is an acceptable compromise.

With each case there are unanswered questions and a myriad of possible explanations and connections. There’s a lot of CCTV to trawl through, and DNA test results seem to take longer than they should. Some witnesses are inexplicably evasive, and others are very likely lying, but Gemma is determined to find the truth. Then a lab result reveals that people Gemma has always trusted implicitly have lied to her on a grand scale. What does it mean for the cases? And can she forgive the betrayal?

Bailey gives the reader an intriguing plot with quite a few twists and turns, although the truth, when revealed, does need the reader to don their disbelief suspenders, and does feel a bit like an overdone trope. Gemma is still a gutsy protagonist, even if most of her decisions are less impulsive and more responsible. Attending grisly scenes and prison interviews with Scarlett strapped to her front might also stretch the credibility a bit. A fitting conclusion to this excellent series.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Allen & Unwin.

The new Gemma Woodstock police procedural, the 4th in the series, begins as Gemma’s off work on maternity leave after the birth of Scarlett. But while she’s supposed to be taking it easy, events conspire to draw her back to work and into a strange mystery that has everyone perplexed.

A high speed car accident outside the town of Smithson results in a woman brought into the hospital in a critical condition. After she succumbs to her injuries her body is placed in the morgue pending further examination.

But before the examination can take place the hospital experiences a power failure that precedes a fire alarm. Gemma happens to be at the hospital at the time, visiting her father who has had a heart attack. Just as she’s trying to work out what’s happened, another alarm is raised - the body in the morgue has been taken.

Officially, Gemma is on leave, but she can’t stop herself from being drawn into the investigation, much to the annoyance of the detective in charge, DS Julian Everett. Given that the unit is currently short-staffed, her boss, Chief Inspector Ken Jones, a man she has worked with for years and only refers to as Jonesy, gives her the green light to investigate in parallel to the official team’s work. An odd arrangement and one that you can tell is sure to cause ructions.

And this is the thing with the Gemma Woodstock character, you’re either gonna love her or hate her. I found her to be exasperating. Overly judgemental, resentful and willingly abrasive towards her colleagues, she’s the opposite of a team player and, in highly hypocritical fashion, derides others when she senses it in them. As needy and insecure as she comes across in the course of this book, her behaviour has actually improved from the way she’s acted in the earlier three books. It’s a good thing she’s got a strong instinct for getting to the bottom of crimes.

Along with her reporter friend Candy Fyfe, Gemma manages to squirm her way to a position where she can pick up vital information about the case. Together they start to put a few pieces together, interview a few people and try to come up with an idea of who the woman might have been and why she was driving so dangerously. And then another person is found dead and that’s when the case really starts to take off - as does the friction between Gemma and Everett.

Now, normally I can’t stand police procedurals where the investigation is hampered by the in-fighting amongst the law enforcement officers. And, to be sure, there’s a lot of that going on here. But the fact is, the insecurities of Gemma, the aloof dismissiveness of Everett and the timid behaviour of Minnie, a constable working the case, all play an important role in the outcome of this mystery. It’s all quite well put together, creates an emotional response for the reader to latch onto and has some implications for the nature of the crimes being investigated.

The murder plot itself is quite a tangled one, complicated by more than one astounding twist as well as the occasional blindside that had just about everyone reeling. With hints of a possible cult involvement, high level scientific genetic research and constant reminders of tragic past events, there’s rich fodder for this case to go in any direction.

I must say I had quite a lot of trouble working out the size of the (fictional) town of Smithson, New South Wales. Sometimes it seemed as though it was a small country town, while other times I had the impression it’s quite a sizable city. It seemed to be a short trip to get out onto deserted country roads while also proving to be a struggle to get through congested streets within town. Not only that I sensed that the Smithson Police Force, complete with a forensic team, was quite large for a country town. I just had difficulty positioning the place in my head and, consequently, I felt there was no sense of place.

When Body of Lies put the in-fighting away (and I got over the geographical bias of Smithson) and got down to the business of solving the crimes that were presented to the Smithson police, the story flowed more evenly. From a slow, plodding start, the pace picked up to deliver an exciting climax which answered many questions but still left me scratching my head a little.

My thanks to Allen & Unwin via NetGalley for my ARC which allowed me to read, enjoy and review this book.

Oh Gemma, Gemma, Gemma. She might be one of my favourite fictional Australian detectives, but she still makes me shake my head in frustration. After book #3 (Where the Dead Go) I really thought DS Gemma Woodstock was starting to get her act together, but this latest (and final, according to Bailey) story shows that in the right circumstances, a person/character can regress.

Because in Body of Lies, things seem to have come full circle for Gemma. She's living back in Smithson, and having been out of action for some time on maternity leave, the old insecurities about her job, her professional skills and her relationships, are all beginning to bubble to the surface again.

Gemma and baby Scarlett are visiting the local Smithson Hospital one evening when an unusual security incident occurs. Between hospital execs, security and local police, nobody can work out what's going on until someone realises a corpse has gone missing from the morgue. The dead woman had been involved in a suspicious road traffic accident earlier that evening. Then when a newborn baby is found abandoned at the lake mere hours later, Gemma decides to cut her maternity leave short and 'help out' the short-staffed police investigation, led by DS Julian Everett.

This was a classic Woodstock story, although the details of the plot were a little unusual - unlike anything I've read for quite a while. The twists and turns are all there, some guessable but many took me by surprise. While Gemma is a very effective investigator, the way her brain conducts analyses is anything but straightforward. She frustrated DS Everett, she even frustrated her boss Jonesy, who is her biggest supporter, and of course she frustrated me too! In one of the early case briefings, even I wanted to tell her to shut up! But at the end of the day she's a fantastic character and I feel a little sad to say goodbye. (And even sadder to think there may never be a joint investigation with journalist Olive Groves from The Housemate!)

A great ending to a great series.

Sarah has yet again given us another great Gemma Woodstock mystery, this time as Gemma is on maternity leave. Sarah Bailey is really cementing herself amongst my ever growing list of great Australia of great thriller writers. She gives us not only a detective that we care about but some great twists and turns as well.